1,400 new Web domains are on their way

Sunday

Apr 14, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Bob and Joy Schwabach ON COMPUTERS

Just when we got used to websites ending in “.com,” “.org,” “.gov” and “.net” along with 18 other obscure endings, ICANN, the nonprofit group that controls the dot endings, is about to expand the list with 1,400 more. The first ones will roll out on April 23.

The most requested new domain is “.app.” Others are “.shop,” “.art” and “.home.” Amazon wants “.book” but restricted it for its use only. There are about a dozen applications for each domain.

Want to try your own Top Level Domain? Well it costs $185,000 to request a new TLD, which is what makes the “dot” ending. Be sure to get your application in early. Some people have complained that $185,000 to apply for a new domain seems a bit high, but those people are just cheapskates.

A couple of years ago we bought a Simon and Garfunkel record on eBay and it arrived as a vinyl record. Well that was a surprise! Because we thought we would be getting a CD and had no way to play a record.

That prompted our purchase of a record player from Audio Technica. Now we have a whole collection of records we found at thrift stores. (Usual price: $1 each.)

So here’s where we get to the point: Amazon announced that any vinyl record purchased on its website will include a free digital version that is stored on their Cloud Player site. So if you’re away from home and want to hear that great old record, it’s a can-do.

The service is part of Amazon’s AutoRip, which provides an MP3 version of any CD or vinyl record you bought going back to 1998. To play the MP3 version, launch Amazon’s Cloud Player. All your music will already be there, no uploading necessary. You can also send new music to be stored on that site.

CanWeNetwork is a free app aimed at uncovering new business contacts from people nearby. When we tried it, it matched us with several engineers and consultants less than three miles away. Had we wished, we could have sent them a message. Since the app tells you how close your new contacts are, if we were sitting side by side in the same coffee shop, we could say hello.

The company launched the app only three months ago, but it has already spread to 100 countries and has tens of thousands of users. It uses data from LinkedIn to match its users and works on Android and iPhone/iPad. More info at CanWeNetwork.com.

PBS Parents Play and Learn is a free app with activities for parents and their wee ones. The activities are for familiar locations, like restaurants. We tapped the bath section and learned about fun songs to make up and how to make a homemade boat. Games for children teach them their letters, how to count and make rhymes. It works on Android, iPhone/iPad and Nook. Be sure to put “PBS” in the search box or it doesn’t come up. We had to install Adobe Air first, but that was easy.

You can store a lot of documents on Google Drive, but recently a new site called CometDocs has some extra features. As is always our preferred state of affairs, it’s free.

CometDocs lets you convert a file into 50 formats, such as HTML, PDF, Word and AutoCAD, and send large files by email. It did an excellent job on our test PDF document, converting it to a Microsoft Word file without error. The service asks for your email address so it can email the converted file, but no credit card is required.

According to Leichtman Research Group, 75 percent of U.S. households now have high-definition TV, compared with only 23 percent in 2008. More than half of households have more than one such TV. Six percent of households have 3D TV, but 59 percent of those households have never bothered to watch any three dimensional content. (What the heck, they just wanted the latest stuff.)

We’re not surprised at the surge in users. After buying a new HDTV for the living room, we picked up a 19-inch Samsung LED for $178. Its picture is one of the clearest we’ve seen; small sets seem to have sharper pictures. It doesn’t have any “smart apps” for social networking and Internet news, so maybe that’s why it was so cheap.

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